This prompt was requested by a very cute Anon on tumblr!
I'm actually a bit sorry this turned out so angsty...? But hm...
It does have potential for more. Maybe I'll continue on it, let's see ;)

62
JadedAlya
Love

"I want to protect you…", he mumbled while tightening his arms around her waist.

"I know…", she whispered back, burying her face deeper on his shoulder, "I'm sorry…"

He nodded, starting to sway from side to side a bit to soothe her.

"I just don't want anything happening to you… I couldn't bare-…", his voice hitched and she pulled his hood down, one of her hands burying itself in his short, brown hair.

"I'm so sorry…", she repeated, unable to suppress her sniffles anymore as she felt him beginning to tremble underneath her hands.

"It was too close… Too close today… The Akuma already got you…", he stumbled over his words, "If-… If Ladybug hadn't-… Wasn't there and-… I could've never-…"

Her hands stilled and her fingers in his hair clenched to a fist. She didn't pull his hair but just held him tighter.

"I'm here-… I'm here…", she mumbled and his breath hitched, his fingers digging into her shirt.

"… I can't lose you…", he finally sad with a thick voice, "I can't lose you… It was t-too close today…"

She nodded, still remembering way too vividly the feeling of air rushing out of her lungs as the Akuma had thrown her into the Seine. The impact had almost knocked her unconscious and the cold water had immediately immobilized her, her body sinking like a rock as she had watched the bubbles floating up to the surface.

Her eyes had closed as she had tried moving, had tried swimming up again, but the light had vanished behind her eyelids. The darkness and cold had pulled her deeper and soon, her weak attempts to fight her fate had died out, her limbs going slack. She had opened her eyes again to see the sun one last time but she had already been too deep down. Just as she had accepted the inevitable death, though, a red shadow had dived in after her, grabbing her hand.

She had barely recognized Ladybug before already resurfacing again, the superhero pulling her on land. She had yelled and screamed but Alya hadn't understood a word. She had stayed there, on this spot, soaking wet and on the verge of losing her conscious, just barely able to concentrate on breathing. It hadn't taken the four superheroes of Paris long to defeat the Akuma after that but for Alya it had taken an eternity until the Miraculous Cleansing light had washed over her, taking the wet and the cold but not the shock.

She faintly remembered Chat Noir bringing her home and telling her parents what had happened to her before being tucked in and cuddled to sleep by her entire family. She faintly remembered her mother's tears and her father's worried frown as well as the warming hands of her little sisters before giving in to the exhaustion and dozing away.

When she had woken up her family had brought her to bed and they had gone to sleep themselves. She had sat up and recoiled at the golden eyes behind yellow goggles that had watched her.

And now she found herself in Carapace's arms. Her secret boyfriend's arms.

"I know…", she mumbled yet again, "I know… I'm sorry…"

He gently parted from her, not stepping out of the embrace but leaning back so he could look at her. His eyes were sad and his gaze was searching.

"No…", he whispered, "You don't know… I was terrified…"

He softly brushed a strand of hair out of her face and watched his green clad thumb vanishing behind her ear.

"I-… I'm sorry…", she forced out but his pained gaze let her words stick to her tongue. She really didn't know what he had gone through.

"Alya, I-… I c-can't do this… I just-… I just wanna protect you…"

Her eyebrows furrowed and she pressed her lips together.

"I-…"

"Please don't say it again…", his voice was quiet as he brushed over her lips with his other thumb, his hands holding her face turned towards him, "I-… I just-…"

He deeply breathed in before he spoke up again, his hands beginning to tremble.

"I need to keep you safe… I can't be with you anymore…"

Her eyes widened but he silently pleaded her to hear him out so she closed her mouth again.

"I-… I can't be with you anymore… Please, you have to understand-… I don't trust myself to keep you safe. I-… What if someone finds out about us? What if Hawkmoth finds out about us? It's-… Too dangerous."

She knew this gaze on him. She knew that no matter what she said, he wouldn't budge. And-… The thought did horrify her. After all, she still had family. Her little sisters.

And even if he meant the world to her, she knew she'd hurt him more by pleading him to stay with her. She wasn't dumb, after all.

"… I-… I understand…"

He nodded and already hinted to stepping back as she held him close, her hands unmoving in his hair and on his back.

"Just-… Just two things, okay?"

He leant towards her again, resting his forehead against hers.

"Anything, Alya…"

"I want you to know that I love you. I'll always l-love you…", she forced out, a lump forming in her throat, "I love you, Carapace, no-… No matter who you are… I love you…"

"I love you, too…", he replied hoarsely, his thumb brushing over her cheek while his palm cupped her jaw. She breathed through, enjoying the warm breeze of his breath washing over her chin.

"One-…", her breath hitched and her voice threatened to break but she cleared her throat and her eyes locked onto his gaze again, "… One kiss. One last kiss. Please."

She hoped he wouldn't be able to go. She hoped he wouldn't be able to leave her arms anymore because he couldn't resist her.

Sure enough, just a second after she said it he already dipped down, his lips softly brushing over hers. She already felt him pulling away but she went after him, locking their lips together and wrapping her arms around his neck. He replied immediately, his arms steadying her around her upper body, his fingers clenching around the soft fabric of her shirt. She pressed herself against him, tears slowly building up in the corners of her eyes. His chest armor pushed against her as his breaths became heavier, their kiss deeper. One of her hands found its way back into his hair and held him close, keeping him from escaping.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she felt him gently pushing against her, letting her stumble back to her bed. His grip kept her upright even as her legs gave up. He slowly let her sit down on the edge of the mattress and she pulled him down with her but he stayed standing. Only as her lips began feeling cold in the nightly breeze, only as her arms were empty and her eyes full of tears, she understood why. He was gone.

Her hands sank and a painful sob formed in her throat as she pushed herself off the bed and ran to the open window, curtains fluttering in the gentle Parisian wind. She just so saw a green clad boy running over the rooftops against a quickly darkening sky. He didn't hesitate, didn't turn around to her one last time while she watched him become smaller until he finally vanished.

As the imprint on her eyes where she had last seen him was fading as well she sunk to her knees, sobs overtaking her body. She leant her head against the hard windowsill and began sobbing loudly before a scream left her mouth.

When her mother and father stormed into her room, in pajama and with disheveled hair from sleeping, they found their daughter slumped against the wall beneath her window, shivering and crying violently while above her, the window was opened and the Parisian wind let the curtains flutter.